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FillmoreSlim · 06-14-2003, 05:05 PM

#19

VHS: The Future of Gaming

One of the most obscure, but convoluted and interesting debacles of post-crash gaming madness, is Hasbro's stillborn Control-Vision console which was designed to run on VHS tapes instead of then-standard ROM cartridges. The system was codenamed NEMO -- supposedly for "Never Ever Mention Outside" -- and reportedly Hasbro poured $20 million in research and development funds into the project. Of course, Hasbro was a toy company, so it needed someone else to cook up the system. Enter Atari founder Nolan Bushnell.

After Bushnell sold his company to Time Warner in the early '80s, he founded a new company called Axlon to create advanced robotic toys. Hasbro came to an agreement with Axlon for the creation of NEMO. Bushnell founded a new company called Isix to work on the project in 1987 with Tom Zito, later of Digital Pictures infamy, but more on him later.

Dana Plato, no! Control-Vision had special patented "InstaSwitch" circuitry designed to maximize the data on VHS tapes. The tapes could contain computer data, as well as multiple tracks of video and audio, which could be seamlessly accessed in any order. The "gameplay" of Night Trap suddenly makes sense, doesn't it? Yes, Night Trap was originally conceived for Hasbro's aborted console. The game was originally entitled Scene of the Crime, and it was created for NEMO over the course of a three week shoot and at a cost of $1.5 million. Sewer Shark cost even more and took even longer: $3 million and over a month of shooting was required. Also in development was a football game featuring John Madden, and a game based on the then-relevant Police Academy movie series -- Steve Guttenberg was popular with the kiddies.

The system was supposed to cost $199, but the high manufacturing costs of the system's DRAM drove it to $299. In 1989, the NES was around $100 -- Control-Vision being that much more expensive would have been untenable. The system was supposed to ship in January of 1989, but the NEMO project finally cratered in November of 1988. It's rumored that final, boxed retail Control-Visions had already been shipped to a warehouse, but they only gathered dust after NEMO got the axe.

Unfortunately, this story has a sequel. Zito was eventually able to bring his evil vision for gameplay-impoverished games to the Sega CD with his own company, Digital Pictures ? but that's another story. A dumb one, as it happens.

06-14-2003, 05:05 PM
FillmoreSlim Confirmed User Join Date: May 2003 Location: streetz Posts: 1,236	#19 VHS: The Future of Gaming One of the most obscure, but convoluted and interesting debacles of post-crash gaming madness, is Hasbro's stillborn Control-Vision console which was designed to run on VHS tapes instead of then-standard ROM cartridges. The system was codenamed NEMO -- supposedly for "Never Ever Mention Outside" -- and reportedly Hasbro poured $20 million in research and development funds into the project. Of course, Hasbro was a toy company, so it needed someone else to cook up the system. Enter Atari founder Nolan Bushnell. After Bushnell sold his company to Time Warner in the early '80s, he founded a new company called Axlon to create advanced robotic toys. Hasbro came to an agreement with Axlon for the creation of NEMO. Bushnell founded a new company called Isix to work on the project in 1987 with Tom Zito, later of Digital Pictures infamy, but more on him later. Dana Plato, no! Control-Vision had special patented "InstaSwitch" circuitry designed to maximize the data on VHS tapes. The tapes could contain computer data, as well as multiple tracks of video and audio, which could be seamlessly accessed in any order. The "gameplay" of Night Trap suddenly makes sense, doesn't it? Yes, Night Trap was originally conceived for Hasbro's aborted console. The game was originally entitled Scene of the Crime, and it was created for NEMO over the course of a three week shoot and at a cost of $1.5 million. Sewer Shark cost even more and took even longer: $3 million and over a month of shooting was required. Also in development was a football game featuring John Madden, and a game based on the then-relevant Police Academy movie series -- Steve Guttenberg was popular with the kiddies. The system was supposed to cost $199, but the high manufacturing costs of the system's DRAM drove it to $299. In 1989, the NES was around $100 -- Control-Vision being that much more expensive would have been untenable. The system was supposed to ship in January of 1989, but the NEMO project finally cratered in November of 1988. It's rumored that final, boxed retail Control-Visions had already been shipped to a warehouse, but they only gathered dust after NEMO got the axe. Unfortunately, this story has a sequel. Zito was eventually able to bring his evil vision for gameplay-impoverished games to the Sega CD with his own company, Digital Pictures ? but that's another story. A dumb one, as it happens. __________________ New and Improved Chameleon Submitter 2.0 - Submit to TGP and MGP sites - GET YOURS TODAY!